“I’ve never been sick enough that I can’t stand and make my own meals, but if I was, I would absolutely let someone else cook for me.”
“Uh huh.”The significant look Naomi gave Audrey and Cassidy said she felt otherwise.
“Anyway, my point is that the books make no sense a lot of the time.”
“And yet, she keeps coming back and reading more of the genre, even when she’s not doing it for book club.”Naomi smirked.A quick glance at Cassidy, who was grinning, confirmed to Audrey that these two often needled each other like this.
“She likes the sexy scenes,” Grandma chimed in.“That’s why I read them, too.”
“I’m not sure I needed to know that,” Audrey muttered.
“You should be happy to know that life isn’t just for the young.”Grandma shook her head.
“It’s not that; it’s that you’re my grandmother,” Audrey protested.“I try really hard not to think about what Cassidy and David get up to.And I try really, really, really hard not to think about what my parents do or don’t do.Or what my dad does with women other than my mom.”
There were sympathetic looks all around, and Audrey winced a little, but no one here knew her mom.And it was nice not to have to censor herself completely.If she’d said anything like that back home, it would have definitely gotten back to her mom, who would be horribly hurt.Even if it was true and Audrey wasn’t the one doing the actual action, her mother considered being told about her husband’s indiscretions to be worse than the indiscretions themselves.
At least, that was how it always seemed to Audrey.
“Your mother could do with reading a romance or two,” Grandma said, her voice softening slightly as she spoke of her stepdaughter.The complete opposite of Audrey’s mother, who couldn’t mention her stepmother without sounding brittle and disapproving.“And removing her buttstick.”
“So, I always wondered,” Audrey said loudly, before her grandmother could go down the buttstick road, “what do you do with the books when you’re done with them?”When everyone looked at her, no one answering immediately, she frowned.“Like, do you donate them to the library…”
“Oh, you’re reading paperbacks… got it.”Naomi smiled.“I think we all use e-readers at this point or an app on our phone.”
“I… never considered that.I’ve never read anything but a paperback.”
“I like it because I can adjust the font to be bigger,” Grandma said.“And I can leave little notes for myself at my favorite spots to go back to.I like to mark out the sex scenes for future re-reads.”
“I just don’t want to carry a book around everywhere.”Claudia shrugged.“I don’t always have time to sit down and read, but I can get in a few pages whenever I have a minute since it’s on my phone.”
Naomi nodded in agreement.“Same for me.”
“I still like reading both, but it’s easier to carry around my e-reader,” Cassidy said, shrugging.
“Okay, so… if I’m going to do it on my phone… how does that work?”Audrey pulled out her phone, and the others crowded around to help her figure things out.While they were doing that, the front door opened again, and another couple walked in.There was a moment of hesitation from everyone, which had Audrey’s alarm bells ringing in her head.For some reason, people weren’t as happy to see him as they had been to see each other.
The man was definitely former military, like her brother and the rest of the team.He moved just like they did.Though he was completely bald, he had a full beard and mustache.An earring dangled down from one ear, like a chain with a little knife hanging from the end of it.The woman at his side was a pretty blonde, and her dark eyes were bright and wide as she looked around the foyer with interest, seemingly indifferent to the people to her left in the living room, all staring at her.
“Hey, Coriander, we weren’t sure you were going to make it,” Jensen said, coming forward.“Hi, Noelle, welcome to my house.”
“His name is Coriander?”Audrey whispered to Claudia, who was standing the closest to her and watching the couple greet Jensen through narrowed eyes.
“His name is Zeus—I’ll explain the spice thing later—and we don’t trust him,” Claudia murmured back.
Well, coriander was an herb, not spicy, but okay then.
Mason
The arrival of Zeus and Noelle shifted the mood of the party.Not a lot.Some people might not even notice.But Mason was always attuned to the group and watched people’s behavior more closely than the average person.That was his job, after all.
He watched as David took Zeus and Noelle over to introduce them to Audrey and Brenda, a lot more formally than he had for anyone else.If they were ever going to integrate Zeus into their group, they needed to put a better foot forward.Zeus was trying.Just showing up here tonight was proof of that.They’d run into him at the BDSM club they all frequented, but this was the first team social event that he’d shown up to.
Mason shifted closer.Not because he was trying to get closer to Audrey, of course; he was just doing his job of keeping an eye on the group and how well Zeus was integrating into it.Exactly like Lincoln had asked him to.Their boss had chosen Zeus, after all, even with his past.He wanted Zeus on the team.If Mason could help ease the way, all the better.
“Hey, Clove,” he said amiably when Zeus caught his eye.For just a moment, he thought he saw a flash of amusement in the other man’s face, but it was quickly covered up by his usual, stoic expression.
“Mason.”
